This is still a work in progress as I upload tasting notes and wine labels from as far as 1999... Check back once in a while to get the updates.

May 22, 2010

Drinking with Lodovico Antinori

Dinner at Otto e Mezzo with Marchese Lodovico Antinori.

1996 Sine Qua Non Omadhaun & Poltroon - I've always loved this interesting blend of Roussanne and Chardonnay, and it drank very well tonight. Floral notes with honey, caramel, flint and a little metallic. Amazing that at 15.1% alcohol, you can't really smell the alcohol... although the finish was a little hot. There was also some toasty oak and a little bit of smoke, along with some sweet grass. At the end of the dinner, the remaining wine in the glass showed classic notes of butter and sweet corn, as the Chardonnay finally broke free from the repression of the Roussanne. I loved it.

2007 Lodovico - this is the inaugural vintage due to be released in September. This was fantastic. I could tell it was a young wine, but it was already very delicious. Nose was very sweet, a little smoky, somewhat medicinal but it definitely wasn't brett...and a little pine needle. Still lots of tannins in the wine, but they were beginning to round out. Later on there was some cotton candy and a hint of green peppers (not bell peppers, more like jalapeños) in the nose. I can only imagine what this wine would be in another 10 years.

1996 Masseto - admittedly not one of the best vintages, the wine nevertheless drank beautifully. In a blind tasting, there was no way I would have guessed it wasn't from Bordeaux. Smoky nose with a little brett, sous bois over the core of red fruits, and a little pencil lead. Tannins were very smooth. A yummy wine to drink now.

1973 Veuve Clicquot Brut Rosé - this was a great way to finish. The nose was very oxidized as we all expected, with caramel, honey, marmalade, apricot and a little salty plum (話梅). Very fine bubbles.

Full post on dinner is here.

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